Cisco Certified Network Consulting and Support

Cisco has developed a comprehensive portfolio of wireless networking devices and software tools intended to provide anywhere, anytime access to information and other resources and to facilitate teamwork among workers, associates, vendors, and customers. Cisco's wireless products include Cisco's Small Business, Aironet and Meraki lines of access points, plus Cisco's Wireless LAN Controller modules and appliances. Progent's certified wireless consultants can enable businesses of all sizes to deploy Cisco wireless solutions to support the current paradigm of Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) networks by converging their wired/wireless environments to benefit from easy configuration, consistent and fast performance, single-point control, enterprise-wide policy, high availability (HA), and advanced protection.

Cisco's Unified Wireless solution can expand to up to 18,000 access points with full Layer 3 connectivity at central or remote locations such as enterprise headquarters, university auditoriums, branches, and home offices. Cisco's Wi-Fi APs and controllers are components of Cisco's Unified Wireless Network and are designed to support the same degree of protection, throughput, and manageability for wireless LANs that businesses demand in their wired networks. This technology incorporates integrated mobility services such as IP voice, high-definition IP video, and secure guest access. Cisco's Unified Wireless Network technology enables organizations to build wireless environments that streamline the way they do business and enhance output via a mobile and connected workforce.

Progent's Cisco CCIE network consulting services offers remote or onsite expertise to help you to design, deploy, manage, expand, and troubleshoot converged wired and wireless network infrastructure of any size and for any venue. In addition, Progent offers economical remote and on-premises Wi-Fi site surveys to assist you to design and install a wireless LAN with custom-designed AP clustering optimized for your specific work area layout, building characteristics, and application workloads.

Small Business, Aironet, Meraki and Catalyst Wireless Access Points
Cisco's Small Business, Aironet, Meraki and Catalyst families of wireless access points enable organizations to converge wired/wireless networks to provide the accessibility, density, performance, protection and manageability needed for practically any environment. Cisco's access points start at entry-level, single-band 802.11b/g/n units with data rates of 300 Mbps intended for very small companies or home offices to 802.11ax wireless access points capable of handling hundreds of wireless clients per access point and delivering throughput in excess of 5 Gb. Cisco's current line of wireless access points can be clustered to provide the scale to handle wireless networks crowded with clients and with a high incidence of HD video apps.

Cisco Small Business 100, 300 and 500 Series of Wireless Access Points
Cisco's Small Business 100, 300 and 500 Family of APs are Linux-powered devices engineered as value-priced Wi-Fi solutions for light workloads. Most versions in Cisco's Small Business family of APs work with Cisco's Single Point Setup technology, which makes it possible to configure, control and troubleshoot a cluster of wireless access points from a single device through an intuitive browser-based interface. All models include Power over Ethernet and feature QoS, rogue AP awareness, and bridging for connecting to a second network.

Cisco's Small Business WAP121 Access Point is a wall-mountable, single-radio 2.4GHz unit that can support 16 active 802.11b/g/n wireless clients, has a 10/100 Ethernet interface, allows up to 4 AP devices and 40 wireless clients per cluster, and can handle sustained data rates of up to 300 Mbps. Cisco's WAP131 is a desktop dual-radio 802.11a/b/g/n access point that can handle 16 active clients per radio for a total of up to 32 clients, includes a GE interface, and can support throughput of up to 300 Mbps per radio. The WAP131 Wireless-N does not allow clustering. The Cisco WAP150 is a general-purpose Wave 1 dual-radio AC/n access point that includes a one Gbit Power over Ethernet port and can support up to 16 clients from each radio with 867 Mbps throughput for AC clients and 300 Mbps for 802.11n clients. The Cisco WAP1501 allows four APs for each cluster.

Cisco's Small Business WAP321 Access Point is a wallmount single-band (either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz) 802.11n unit with support for up to 80 active wireless clients in an 8-device cluster. The WAP321 has a 10/100/1000 Ethernet port and can support a sustained data rate of 300 Mbps for the selected radio. The Cisco WAP351 is a dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n access point with a 5-port Gigabit Ethernet interface and can handle 32 wireless clients per radio for a total of up to 64 active clients, and support sustained throughput of 300 Mbps per radio. The WAP351 AP does not allow clustering. Cisco's Small Business WAP361 is a dual-band Wireless-AC/N wireless access point that includes a 5 x Gb Ethernet switch, allows 32 clients on each radio, and offers 867 Mbps throughput for wireless AC devices and 300 Mbps for 802.11n devices. The Cisco WAP361 supports eight access points per cluster. Cisco's wallmount Small Business WAP371 Wireless-AC/N is a dual-band AP that supports 802.11a/b/g/n and the latest 802.11ac IEEE Wi-Fi specification. The WAP371 includes a GE port, can support up to 32 active clients per radio, and 8 APs per cluster.

Cisco's Small Business WAP561 802.11n Selectable Band access point features one 10/100/1000 Ethernet port and dual concurrent radios that offer 450 Mbps throughput for each radio, support 64 devices for each radio, and allow up to 16 access points per cluster. Cisco's WAP551 is like the WAP 561 but features a single selectable band (2.4 or 5.0 GHz). Cisco's WAP571 and WAP571E (the ruggedized outside model) are dual-radio Wireless-AC/N APs incorporating 2 x GE ports with link aggregation (LAG), 3x3 MIMO, and up to 1.9 Gigabit/sec performance with 1300 Mbps over 802.11ac and 600 Mbps on 802.11n. Both access points support 32 clients per radio and 16 access points per cluster.

The Cisco Small Business WAP581 Wireless-AC Dual Radio Wave 2 AP supports the 802.11ac Wi-Fi 5 standard and features 4x4 and 3x3 MU-MIMO technology to deliver 2.8 Gbps throughput at 5 GHz and 600 Mbps at 2.4 GHz for a total top throughput of 2.4 Gbps. The Small Business WAP581 includes an integrated 2.5G Ethernet LAN interface and a 10/100/1000 Ethernet LAN interface with 802.3at PoE. Cisco's WAP581 Wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 access point supports as many as 200 connective users, up to 50 active client users per radio, 16 access points per cluster, and 960 active users for each cluster.

For more information about Progent's consulting services for both current and older Cisco Small Business series of WiFi access points, see Cisco Small Business wireless access points planning and support.

Cisco's Aironet Family of Wireless Access Points
Cisco's Aironet family of wireless access points has for years been the leading AP product. Aironet wireless access points run the gamut from value-priced entry-level models to advanced APs. The Aironet series span several generations of models supporting the evolving 11x specification. The current portfolio of Aironet wireless access points work with Cisco's Unified Wireless Network architecture and come with 802.11ac Wi-Fi support, which delivers three times the throughput plus superior coverage and user density in comparison to the previous generation of devices. Cisco's latest multi-band Aironet access points can support 802.11n at 2.4 GHz for clients that lack 802.11ac radios.

The earliest Aironet APs are now legacy devices that have reached end-of-life status and are not supported by Cisco. Progent still offers support for the complete Aironet line of wireless access points and can assist you to maintain your existing Aironet wireless system or move cost effectively to current Aironet technology. For more information about Progent's consulting services for both current and legacy Aironet access points, refer to Cisco Aironet access points planning and support.

Cisco's Meraki Wireless Access Points
Cisco's portfolio of Meraki dual-band indoor APs include budget-friendly devices for small businesses to enterprise-class units supporting up to 5.9 Gbit/sec throughput. Each Meraki indoor wireless access point provides high-end features like self-configuring installation, advanced protection, BYOD support, extensive analytics, zero-touch web-based updates, and centralized cloud management via an intuitive dashboard. Every Cisco Meraki indoor AP also includes two powerful radios with enhanced reception plus a dedicated radio that provides intrusion detection and prevention system (WIDS/WIPS) security for RF analysis and deep packet inspection.

Meraki outdoor access points are IP67 rated, designed to withstand harsh outdoor environments, and able to resist dust, vibration and humidity. Cisco's Meraki outdoor wireless access points include a 1 x Gbit Ethernet port and offer advanced features such as cloud management with network-wide visibility, 802.1X and native Active Directory integration, built-in antivirus scan (NAC), 1-click secure guest access and guest isolation firewall, application-aware traffic shaping, plus self-configuring mesh with MIMO. For more information about Progent's support for Meraki wireless access points and cloud management, see Meraki access points planning and support.

Catalyst 9100 Family of Wi-Fi 6 Access Points
Cisco's Catalyst 9100 Series Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax APs are designed for environments ranging from telecommuter homes to high-density arenas. Cisco Catalyst 9100 access points are compliant with the 802.11ax standard, known as Wi-Fi 6, which in turn builds on the previous 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) specification. As an improvement to 802.11ac, Wi-Fi 6 is designed to utilize both the 2.4-Ghz and 5-GHz radio bands. Headline technologies supported by Catalyst 9100 Series access points include MU-MIMO support for uplink traffic, dual NAVs for improved dependability, TWT for conserving power consumption in battery-powered endpoints, adaptive power and sensitivity thresholds for better spectrum use, and extended guard intervals for improved outdoor performance. All Cisco Catalyst 9100 wireless APs support Cisco's Embedded Wireless Controller, accommodate up to 200 clients per Wi-Fi radio, and run on Cisco IOS XE Software. For details about Progent's consulting services for Catalyst 9100 Family of 802.11ax Access Points, see Wireless APs system design, configuration, and troubleshooting consulting.

Cisco 9800 Series 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 Wireless Controllers
Cisco Catalyst 9800 line of Wi-Fi 6-compatible wireless LAN controllers allow you to automate and manage modern Wi-Fi networks that support 802.11ax APs. 802.11ax, aka Wi-Fi 6, improves on previous generation 802.11ac (called Wi-Fi 5) devices by delivering less latency and more reliable performance, supporting higher client user density, providing greater protection, conserving energy for battery-powered handheld devices, and offering more versatility for handling the latest types of Internet-of-Things endpoints. Cisco's Catalyst 9800 line Wi-Fi controllers include high availability with transparent software upgrades, live patching, and the ability to connect additional Wi-Fi access points without service interruption. Advanced cybersecurity features include Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA), image signing, and Cisco Software-Defined Access (SD-Access). Streaming telemetry allows you to monitor and understand infrastructure and endpoint health.

All appliances in the Catalyst 9800 line are based on Cisco's IOS XE Software and operate with Cisco's DNA Center (DNAC) or with Prime Infrastructure management platforms. Cisco's Catalyst 9800 Series wireless network controllers can support Cisco Aironet 802.11ac Wave 1 and Wave 2 access points as well as Catalyst 9100 Wi-Fi 6 wireless APs. For more information about Progent's support for Cisco 9800 Series Wi-Fi 6 Wireless Controllers, refer to Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wi-Fi 6 wireless LAN controllers system planning, deployment, and troubleshooting consulting.

Cisco Wi-Fi 5 802.11ac Wireless LAN Controllers
Cisco Wave 2 Wi-Fi controllers enable realtime data exchange, provisioning, management, monitoring and debugging for Cisco Wi-Fi devices and services. Cisco offers both physical and software-based wireless controllers for centralized management of wireless environments, but networks with a large number of wireless access points typically require hardware-based wireless controllers. Wave 2 wireless controller appliances from Cisco offer major benefits over Wave 1 and earlier products including greater throughput, concurrent support for both 1G and 10G Ethernet, improved application visibility and control, and advanced, integrated protection.

The Cisco 3504 WiFi Controller is a value-priced appliance available in a desktop form factor and designed for small and medium-sized organizations. You can use the 3504 model in a centralized WLAN architecture such as in small branch and remote offices administered over the wide-area network via Cisco FlexConnect, or in bridge deployments where Ethernet cabling is limited. The 3504 wireless controller can handle up to 150 WiFi access points and 3,000 client users, offers 4 Gbps throughput, and supports 4,096 VLANs. The 3504 controller includes a multi-gigabit Ethernet interface (up to 5 Gigabit Ethernet) and four 1-Gigabit Ethernet ports. APs can be attached to the controller through two Power over Ethernet ports. The 3504 wireless controller offers subsecond failover for APs and users, which allows high availability for apps. As with other current Wave 2 wireless controllers from Cisco, the 3504 model has the integrated capability to communicate with Cisco Prime Infrastructure, Cisco Mobility Services, and Cisco 5520 and 8540 WLAN controllers.

Cisco's 5520 WiFi Controller, offered in a 1 rack unit form factor, is designed for midsize to large organizations and campus networks and can be used in centralized, distributed, and mesh architectures. The 5520 Wi-Fi controller can handle up to 1,500 access points and 20,000 users, offers 20 Gbps throughput, and supports 4,096 VLANs. The 5520 wireless controller includes two 10 GE ports and features SSD storage, backup fans, optional backup power supplies, and subsecond failover for uninterrupted availability.

Cisco's 8540 Wireless Controller, available in a 2 rack unit (RU) enclosure, is a top-of-the-line WiFi controller intended to support enterprises, service providers, and large campuses. The 8540 Wireless controller can be used in centralized, distributed, and mesh architectures and supports as many as 6,000 Wi-Fi access points and 64,000 client users. The 8540 Wireless controller can deliver throughput as high as 40 Gbps and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. The 8540 controller comes with four 1-GB or 10GE interfaces and features SSD storage, backup power supplies, redundant fans, and subsecond failover.

Wave 1 Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
Cisco wireless controllers reduce the time and cost required to deploy, monitor, and operate wireless networks by offering single-point control of functions such as provisioning access points, applying consistent policies throughout converged wired/wireless networks, supporting enterprise-wide Quality of Service for voice and video, tracking and troubleshooting system performance, activating intrusion prevention tools to defend against unauthorized access and Distributed Denial of Service threats, and managing IPv6 clients. Cisco has designed wireless LAN controllers for organizations of any size and offers standalone desktop controllers, modular plug-in controllers for Cisco ISR routers and Catalyst switches, and Catalyst switches with built-in wireless controllers.

Cisco's Wave 1 WiFi LAN controllers incorporate Cisco CleanAir technology to minimize signal interference and produce self-optimizing wireless LANs for maximum 802.11n and 802.11ac performance and security. Built-in Bonjour Gateways enable discovery across WLAN, LAN and WAN for Apple applications. For fault tolerance, Cisco wireless controllers allow AP and client stateful failover by permitting a standby HA wireless controller to synchronize with a main controller for AP license count, CAPWAP state and roaming keys, and AP CAPWAP state. If the main controller stops working, thousands of access points and wireless clients can failover immediately to the secondary wireless LAN controller.

Cisco's Wireless Controller Module for ISR Routers with UCS-E offers entry-level 802.11n and 802.11ac support for 2900 and 3900 routers used by small to medium-sized businesses and branch offices. This value-priced and scalable solution can handle up to 200 access points and up to 6000 wireless clients. (To learn concerning Progent's online and on-premises consulting and troubleshooting support services for Cisco routers, see Cisco router deployment and troubleshooting support.)

Cisco Catalyst 3650 Series are 1RU switches intended for small to mid-size businesses and branch offices and features a built-in wireless LAN controller with the capability to support 40 Gb of wireless throughput per switch and 25 access points and 1000 clients per switch or stack. Catalyst 3850 Series are 1RU switches designed for mid-size businesses and large enterprises and include a built-in wireless LAN controller with up to 40 Gb of wireless throughput per switch and the ability to handle 50 APs and 2000 wireless clients. The Wireless Services Module2 (WiSM2) is a plug-in blade for Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series switches with an integrated wireless LAN controller designed for mid-to-large size enterprises and capable of 20 Gbps performance and with support for up to 1000 access points and 15,000 clients. (To find out concerning Progent's support for Cisco Catalyst switches, see Cisco switches configuration and troubleshooting services.)

Cisco 2500 Series Wireless Controllers are value-priced desktop devices that streamline the deployment and operation of Wi-Fi networks for small to medium-sized enterprises and branch offices. The Cisco 2500 Series wireless network controller supports from five to 75 wireless access points and up to 1000 wireless clients and offers sustained performance of up to 1 Gbps.

The Cisco 5500 Series Wireless Controller is a scalable 1RU unit designed for medium-sized to large organizations and campuses and can manage 500 access points and 7,000 wireless clients while providing 8 Gbps throughput. The Cisco 5760 Series Wireless Controller is a 1RU appliance intended for mid-to-large campuses with the ability to manage up to 1000 APs and 12,000 wireless clients and providing throughput of 60 Gbps to accommodate high wireless client densities and high amounts of video-intensive applications.

Cisco's Flex 7500 Wireless Controller is designed to enable centralized management of thousands of wireless branches from a single datacenter, avoiding the need for a Wi-Fi controller at every branch. The 1RU Flex 7500 appliance lets you establish a private cloud to configure, track, manage, and repair as many as 6000 access points and up to 64,000 clients while handling 1 Gbps throughput. The Cisco 8500 Series Wireless Controller is a 1RU device engineered to monitor and manage wireless environments for very large campuses or service providers and can scale to handle 6000 access points and up to 64,000 clients while offering 10 Gbps throughput.

For more information about Cisco wireless controllers, visit Cisco wireless controllers consulting services.

Legacy Cisco Wireless Access Points, LAN Bridges and Controllers Supported by Progent
The introduction of the 802.11ac specification for wireless connectivity largely made obsolete all prior releases of Wi-Fi products for many environments that have high densities of wireless clients and high incidence of HD video software applications. Even for businesses who do not currently require the bandwidth efficiency of 802.11ac Wi-Fi, many of Cisco wireless devices have reached end-of-sale or end-of-support status, which can pose serious maintenance and compliance problems. Progent's Cisco-certified consulting experts provide remote and on-premises support services for a broad array of older-generation Cisco wireless products. Progent can in addition help companies to evaluate the business case for updating up-of-date wireless infrastructure and can help in designing and executing affordable, non-disruptive migrations. Below are a sample of Cisco legacy Wi-Fi products that Progent's consultants continue to support.

Legacy Cisco Aironet APs
Aironet 1000 or 1130AG Series APs are designed for conventional workplaces and other locations which have minimal environmental variability. These access points have built-in antennas that provide dependable omnidirectional range profiles. The Cisco Aironet 1130G Series access point is offered for restricted locations that do not permit 802.11a/5GHz operation.

Cisco Aironet 1230AG or 1240AG Series access points are designed for more difficult radio frequency environments such as factories or above ceiling structures which commonly require adjustable protruding antennas and ruggedized cases. The Cisco Aironet 1240G family product is intended for controlled domains that do not allow 5GHz transmission.

Cisco Aironet 1500 Series lightweight outside wireless mesh LAN access points provide a cost-effective, scalable, protected outdoor Wi-Fi mechanism for enterprise campuses and for public sites that require connectivity for portable devices.

Legacy Cisco Aironet Wireless Bridges
Cisco Aironet wireless LAN bridges provide a high-throughput and multi-featured solution for integrating numerous LANs in a metropolitan area or public access network. Cisco wireless bridges provide a versatile, easy-to-use technology that satisfies the security requirements of wide-area networking specialists. These bridges support both P2P and point-to-multipoint configurations with good range and the ability to handle data throughput as high as 54 Mbps.

Cisco Aironet wireless LAN bridges offer data rates significantly higher than E1/T1 lines for far less expense, avoiding the requirement for expensive leased lines when connecting separate buildings. Because bridges require no recurring charges, the expenses saved on connection bills quickly pay for the startup hardware investment. Private lines and even leased lines utilizing copper or optical cable can require considerable startup expenses when they are separated by barriers such as freeways, railroads, or lakes and rivers. Cisco wireless LAN bridges can be installed rapidly with a fast return on investment.

Cisco 1300 Series outside access points/bridges can be implemented as independent access points, wireless bridges, or workgroup bridges. These appliances have a tough enclosure and provide fast, cost-effective wireless connectivity between multiple stationary or mobile networks and clients.

Cisco Aironet 1400 family bridges offer fast, reliable outdoor wireless bridging for LOS environments. They include an all-weather cover that is optimized for severe outside conditions and can operate in wide temperature ranges.

Legacy Cisco Wireless Network Controllers
Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers provide single-point management of wireless LANs by simplifying the control of key functions including integrated IPS, fast RF management, zero touch deployment, and full N+1 redundancy. These controllers work with lightweight wireless access points to deliver enhanced performance and high-end administration capabilities.

Cisco WLAN Controllers provide the control, scalability, protection, and fault tolerance that IT managers require to build safe, large-scale wireless solutions, from branch locations to small businesses to headquarter campuses. Cisco's legacy Wireless Controllers can be clustered to offer accommodation for as many as 2400 access points for each roaming domain.

The Cisco WLCM or WLCM-E Wireless LAN Controller Module for Integrated Services Routers offers small-to mid-size businesses and large corporations an economical solution to implement and control protected WLANs at satellite locations. These wireless LAN controllers manage as many as twelve Cisco Aironet access points and are supported on Cisco 2800/3800 Series IS Routers and Cisco 3700 Series Integrated Services Routers. (To find out about Progent's remote and onsite support for Cisco routers, refer to Cisco router deployment and troubleshooting services.)

How Progent's Engineers Can Assist You with Cisco Wireless Products
Progent can provide a Cisco-certified expert to help you to plan, deploy, manage and troubleshoot a converged wired/wireless infrastructure incorporating a broad range of wireless technologies that provide the same security, scalability, and ease of management you demand from a wired environment. Progent can help you to maintain early-generation Wi-Fi products from Cisco or upgrade efficiently to current 802.11ax-compatible products. Progent's CISM and CISSP security consultants can advise you about how to design security into your wireless network and your business processes. Progent's disaster recovery consultants and business continuity planners can show you how to set up the HA technology incorporated into Cisco's wired/wireless technologies so your converged infrastructure delivers continuing business value.

Progent’s Wi-Fi Site Survey assists you to plan and deploy a robust wireless network optimized for your environment, providing a Wi-Fi solution that provides comprehensive coverage, high performance and density, QoS features to support IP video, enterprise-class security and compliance, and streamlined management. Progent's Wi-Fi Site Survey can be delivered remotely to cut time and expense, or onsite for more challenging facilities.

For a further look at Progent's wireless integration capabilities, visit Progent's Wireless Expertise.

For additional details concerning Progent's professional expertise for Cisco networking products, pick a subject:

• Introduction to Progent's Cisco Engineering Services
• Fast and Affordable Remote Access to a Cisco CCIE Network Engineer
• Cisco Firepower Series Firewalls: Configuration and Troubleshooting Expertise
• ASA 5500-X Firewalls with Cisco Firepower Services: Integration and Troubleshooting Expertise
• ASA 5500 Series Firewall Troubleshooting Assistance
• PIX Firewall Upgrade. Migration Services
• Cisco Routers Configuration and Troubleshooting Support
• Aironet Wireless Access Points Deployment Support
• Cisco Small Business 100, 300 and 500 Wireless APs Consulting Help
• Cisco Catalyst 802.11ax APs Planning, Configuration and Debugging Support
• Cisco WiFi Controllers Integration Consulting
• Cisco Meraki APs Engineering Support
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and CallManager Configuration and Technical Support
• Cisco Voice over IP (VoIP) Phones and IP Video Desktop Phones Expertise and Cisco Wireless IP Phone Configuration
• Cisco Jabber Configuration and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco Catalyst Switches Consulting and Support Services
• Cisco Nexus Switches Deployment Services
• Meraki MS Switches Consulting and Support Expertise
• Cisco VPN Consulting Support
• SIP and CUBE Infrastructure Solutions: SIP PSTN Trunks and CUBE Integration Consulting
• Infrastructure Design for Cisco-based Datacenters and Colocation Centers
• Network Optimization Consulting for ISPs
• Centralized Management Technologies for Cisco Environments